Rainforest insects

Most of the animal species found in the rainforest are invertebrates, including insects, arachnids (such as spiders and scorpions), and worms.
Amazingly, about one quarter of all animal species that have been named and described by scientists are beetles. More than 500,000 kinds of beetles are known to exist, many of them from the world’s rainforests.

Rainforest invertebrates come in an incredible array of sizes, ranging from organisms that can sit on a pinhead to the goliath beetle of Africa, which can weigh nearly a quarter of a pound (110 grams). Some Bornean stick insects—which are experts in disguise—can attain a length of more than 20 inches (50cm).

Below you will find some photos of rainforest insects. Please note there is more extensive information about rainforest insects, including specific species, at the main rainforest site.

May I use graphics from mongabay.com for my projects? Yes, you may provided that you don't remove the mongabay label from the images. You may use information from the site for class projects and can cite kids.mongabay.com as the source.

Is this web site credible? Mongabay is the world's most popular source for information on tropical forests. The site is highly acclaimed by a number of the world's leading tropical scientists and is run independently, meaning it is has no affiliation with advocacy groups or outside corporations. Rhett Butler, who founded Mongabay in 1999 and runs the site today, has published several scientific papers.

Can I interview the founder of mongabay.com for my school project? Unfortunately due to the large number of requests and the need to work on the main Mongabay site, Rhett is not available for interviews. However he has answered some common questions on the Rainforest Interview page.

Do you have any games or activities? Currently there are a few on the resources page. There may be more in the future.